All posts by Jeff

The Puerto Rican Boa, Chilabothrus inornatus downgraded from CITES App I to App II

Chilabothrus, Conservation, Natural History

On 12 January, 2023 the CITES Secretariat posted a Notification to the Parties announcing  amendments to CITES Appendices I and II.  That announcement (No. 2023/005) can be found  here.

In a NOTICE TO THE WILDLIFE IMPORT/EXPORT COMMUNITY from the USFWS, Conference of the Parties (CoP19) Amendments to Appendices I and II are effective 90 days after the last day of the CoP.  This rule change will take effect 23 February, 2023.  The USFWS Notice can be found in its entirety here.

Species Transferred from Appendix I to Appendix II:
—  Chilabothrus inornatus (Puerto Rican boa) (NOTE: Listed as Endangered under the ESA)

Given how vague the USFWS Bulletin was, we asked the USFWS the following questions on 16 January, 2023:
1- After the 90 day wait period (23 Feb, 2023) does the Puerto Rican boa (Chilabothrus inornatus) remain on the ESA?
2-Does it remain on the ESA as Endangered?
3-Can it be imported and exported outside of the CONUS (Continental US)?
4-Can it now be transported across state lines without permit (other than breeding loans/gifting)?
5-Can out-of-state sales take place?

On 27 January, 2023 we received the following response:

“The CITES reclassification does not affect the ESA listing in any way. U.S. trade with the species would still need to meet the ESA Import/ Export Requirements. The CITES listing only affects international trade so there are no changes to its interstate movement or sale at this time.”

In July, 2022 the USFWS, via the Federal Register, solicited comments regarding their plan to remove the Puerto Rican Boa from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.  That decision has not been published as of 9 July, 2023.

A new Tropidophis is described from the Dominican Republic

Conservation, Natural History, Recommended reading, Tropidophis

The new Tropidophis is to be named Tropidophis leonae sp. nov., the Jaragua Golden Trope, after Dominican biologist Yolanda M. Leon, a conservation advocate who logistically supported the project. The work was accomplished by Miguel A. Landestoy T. in a single author paper – Bravo! . The author is also the discoverer of Chilabothrus ampelophis (see: ).
This new species is smaller and laterally compressed when compared to the only other Trope on the large island, Tropidophis haetianus.  It has a higher ventral count, differs in head width, neck width, color and pattern.
The Trope was found preying on tadpoles and small toadlets in several inches of water in a limestone hole.  It is found only from the karst foothills near Pedernales Province.  This brings the number of Tropidophis to 35, with six of them living on the mainland.  There is so much work to be done with this genus.  Who will take up the monumental challenge?
The new paper can be found here.

Tropidophis leonae, sp. nov., 2023.

Citations

Landestoy T., M. A. (2023). A remarkable new snake of the genus Tropidophis (Squamata: Tropidophiidae) from southern Hispaniola. Novitates Caribaea, 21, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.33800/nc.vi21.323
Landestoy T., M. A., Reynolds, R. G., & Henderson, R. W. (2021). A SMALL NEW ARBOREAL SPECIES OF WEST INDIAN BOA (BOIDAE; CHILABOTHRUS) FROM SOUTHERN HISPANIOLA. Breviora, 571(1). https://doi.org/10.3099/0006-9698-571.1.1

A new species of dwarf boa, Tropidophis cacuangoae sp. nov., from the Upper Amazon Basin

Conservation, Natural History, Recommended reading, Tropidophis

This new Tropidophis species was found while examining a series of snakes from the Andes of Ecuador.  The new species is tentatively placed as a sister-clade to Tropdophis taczanowskyi.  More research is needed as the sequences for the mainland species are  absent in the database.  “Cacuangoae” is Latinized in honor of human rights Ecuadoran activist Dolores Cacuango.
This new Trope brings the number of valid species to 34, with six of those found on the mainland.  On the mainland, the Tropes are evenly divided with three on the Atlantic highland forest range of eastern Brazil and three on the West side of the continent in montane tropical forests of Ecuador and Peru; yet east of the Andes.  It is interesting all are  found at higher and cooler elevations.
This paper highlights the need for more work on the Genus-there is little to no sequencing available for the genus in its entirety.  That work would clarify some species validity issues, allow candidate species to be described, invalidate others and, most likely, raise a whole new littany of questions about the genus .

Male holotype Tropidophis cacuangoae sp. nov.

Read the new paper published in the European Journal of Taxonomy 854: 1-107 (2022) here.

Citations

Ortega-Andrade, H. M., Bentley, A., Koch, C., Yánez-Muñoz, M. H., & Entiauspe-Neto, O. M. (2022). A time relic: a new species of dwarf boa, Tropidophis Bibron, 1840 (Serpentes: Amerophidia), from the Upper Amazon Basin. European Journal of Taxonomy, 854, 1–107. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2022.854.2021

 

Three West Indian Corallus species produced in 2022

Uncategorized

This season was a productive one for C. ruschenbergerii, C. cookii and C. grenadensis. The first species to reproduce was C. grenadensis, with two litters of seven and three neonates, respectively.  The litters were born on 21 October and 24 October, 2022.  The average weight of a neonate was 6.28 grams; by far the smallest neonates of the genus Corallus.

The second species reproduced this year was C. cookii, with a litter of eight nenates born 30 November 2022.  The average weight of a neonate was 7.35 grams, the second smallest of the genus.

The third species to be reproduced this season was C. ruschenbergerii, consisting of a litter of six live and six stillborn.  The average weight of a neonate was 21.45 grams, making them the third largest neonates of the genus.

Newborn Corallus cookii, grenadensis and ruschenbergerii size comparison.

Pre-order available for “Boas of the West Indies: Evolution, Natural History, and Conservation”

Boa, Chilabothrus, Conservation, Corallus, Natural History, Recommended reading, Tropidophis

By R. Graham Reynolds, Robert W. Henderson, Luis M. Diaz, Tomas M. Rodriguez-Cabrera and Alberto R. Puente-Rolon.  Forward by Jonathan B. Losos.  Hardcover $59.95
ISBN13: 9781501765452
ISBN10: 1501765450
Publication date: 03/15/2023
Pages: 288
Illustrations: 122 color photos, 21 maps, 3 charts, 2 graphs
Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 0 in
Pre-order here:
https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501765452/boas-of-the-west-indies/#bookTabs=4

Corallus ruschenbergerii: documenting its life cycle in captivity

Captive breeding, Conservation, Corallus, Natural History

Of the 9 species in the genus Corallus, C. ruschenbergerii (Cope, 1875) is one of three species least understood.  Two litters of insular C. ruschenbergerii were born on 14 November and 15 November, 2021.  Litter sizes were 12 live/one stillborn and 13 live  respectively.  Neither litter contained any unfertilized ovum.
Average neonate weight for the first litter is 16.20 grams.  All neonates were patterned in various shades of orange.  All neonates underwent their first shed from days 9 through 13 after birth.

All neonates are patterned and various shades of orange.

Average neonate weight for the 2nd litter is 17.19 grams. All neonates underwent their first shed from days 9 through 13 after birth.  All neonates were patterned. Interestingly, two different color forms were present in this litter:  nine newborns displayed various shades of orange and 4 were gray.  This is the first time color heterogeneity is reported in an insular C. ruschenbergerii  litter.

A mixture of color and pattern from one litter.

Compare these two litters with one litter born last year that consisted of all patternless neonates with the same shade of orange.

Pattern-less insular C. ruschenbergerii from a 2020 litter of ten neonates.

For more information and photos, visit the chapter on C. ruschenbergerii here.

Reptiles and Amphibians, Vol 28, No. 3, December 2021 issue

Natural History, Recommended reading, Tropidophis

This particular issue has four articles on the Genus Tropidophis.  They are:

Giant dwarfs: Very large giant tropes Tropidophis melanurus (Squamata: Tropidophiidae), and new maximum size records for the species.
https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/15965

New prey records for two snakes of the genus Tropidophis (Tropidophiidae) from urban habitats in La Habana, Cuba.
https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/15858

Predation on murid rodents by the Giant Trope, Tropidophis melanurus (Squamata: Tropidophiidae), with comments on predation of mammals by snakes of the genus Tropidophis
https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/15876

Westernmost record of the Spotted Red Trope, Tropidophis maculatus (Squamata: Tropidophiidae), with comments on the Tropidophis species assemblage from the Guanahacabibes Peninsula.
https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/15857

Individual PDF’s can be downloaded from each link.

Breeding the endangered Jamaican Boa, Chilabothrus subflavus

Boa, Captive breeding, Chilabothrus, Conservation, , , ,

Jamaican Boas have been bred as a measure of conservation since the 1970s.  Today the species is still listed as Vulnerable (VU) by IUCN and listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).  The species is currently kept by multiple zoos and aquaria as well as private breeders.  We sum up the annual breedings of this boa that we are aware of.  Westindianboas.org provided over the years several breeders with breeding stock animals in the US.  Unfortunately, restrictions make the export of this species unnecessarily difficult.  Considering the good breeding successes on both sides of the Atlantic, it should be in the interest of conservation to exchange genetic material and thus continue to maintain a diverse genetic foundation for conservation.

Several litters of the Jamaican Boa, Chilabothrus subflavus, were born this season in the US, the UK and the EU.  This particular litter, shown below, was born 9 September, 2021.  Produced by Rob Stone of the US, the litter numbered 17 live with no stillborn or unfertilized ovum.  Neonate weights ranged from 10.83 g to 13.93 g, with a mean of 12.98 g.  SVL of the neonates was 25.72 cm to 33.18 cm, with a mean of 30.13 cm.

Sire of the litter. Photo Rob Stone
Dam of the litter. Photo Rob Stone
Sea of subflavus. Photo Rob Stone

The Jamaican Boa is highly variable in color and pattern; the ontogenetic color change will take 18 – 24 months to complete.
The following litters were also produced during the 2021 season:

  • UK:  12 live, 2 stillborn and 7 unfertilized ova on 3 October, 2021.  Bred by Tom Middlebrook and Faye Da Costa.
  • US:  15 live, 1 unfertilized ovum on 27 September, 2021.  Bred by David Muth and Jared Rager.
  • US:  34 live, 3 stillborn and 3 or 4 unfertilized ova on 26 September, 2021.  Bred by Tom Crutchfield.
  • Germany:  9 live, 1 stillborn and 6 unfertilized ova on 14 September, 2021.  Bred by Sebastian Hölch.
UK litter of 12. Photo Tom Middlebrook and Faye Da Costa

Visit the chapter for the Jamaican Boa here for more in depth information and photos.